Dr. Efram E. Goldstein wrote:
> Religion is not compatible with science at all-
> religion is the antithesis of science.
>> All true scientists are atheists.
> All truly intelligent people are atheists.
> Religion is something found only
> in ignorant children. The logical process
> of reason must exclude mythological
> beliefs.
>> Dr. Efram E. Goldstein
********************
My Reply:
Dr. G, is there not an element of FAITH involved in both natural science
and religion? Max Planck, Nobel Laureate in Physics makes a statement
which you may find interesting:
Anyone who has taken part in the building up of a branch of science is well
aware from personal experience that every endeavor in this direction is
guided by an unpretentious but essential principle. This principle is
faith--faith which looks ahead. It is said that science has no
preconceived ideas: there is no saying that has been more thoroughly or
more disastrously misunderstood. It is true that every branch of science
must have an empirical foundation: but it is equally true that the essence
of science does not consist of this raw material but in the manner in which
it is used. The material always is incomplete.. ...[it] must therefore be
completed, and this must be done by filling the gaps; and this in turn is
done by means of associations of ideas. And associations of ideas are not
the work of the understanding but the offspring of the investigator's
imagination--an activity which may be described as faith, or, more
cautiously, as a working hypothesis.
Planck's claim that natural science is rooted in faith is consistent with a
biblical worldview. I believe we need to be very cautious in our thinking
lest we rob ourselves of the spirit of inquiry that has made for truly
great science.
I would welcome your response.
John E. Silvius
Professor of Biology
Cedarville College
Cedarville, Ohio 34514
silviusj at cedarville.edu
